Best smartphones for students: Top picks under £500
HMD, the company formerly known as Nokia before Microsoft snapped up its broken remains up in 2014 and let it rot, has been around since 2016, knocking out classic Nokia featurephones and smartphones, but it wasn't until 2023 that it started creating HMD-branded devices. I've reviewed the near-indestructible XR21, the photo-led feature-tastic Pulse Pro, and the industry-disrupting, repair-it-yourself Skyline, all of which have delighted and dazzled in equal measure. Which brings me to its latest model, the HMD Fusion X1 – and, as we've learned to expect from HMD, it offers something rather different from the rest of the smartphone set.
First up, let's check the spec. Featuring an octo-core Qualcomm SM4450 (Snapdragon 4 Gen 2) at its heart, the Fusion X1 is geared towards performance, multitasking and, of course, gaming. The HD+ display boasts 6.56 inches and carries a pixel count of 720 x 1612 pixels, plus a 90Hz refresh rate.
When it comes to cameras, a 50MP front-facing lens allows for selfies of truly monumental proportions, while the rear presents a whopping 108MP beast, complete with 2MP depth sensor. Both make for some sizeable snaps, but fear not, for the Fusion X1 comes with a generous 128GB of built-in storage, expandable up to a colossal 1TB with the addition of a microSD card.
Now, like the Skyline, the Fusion X1 is also home repairable, so all you need is a tiny toolkit like the iFixit and should the screen have an unfortunate encounter, or the battery ceases to work, or the SIM tray somehow snaps, you can order a new part and DIY it (with the help of step-by-step online instructions), saving oodles on expensive shop repairs or sending the phone away for weeks, possibly months, on end.
What's that? Why do I keep saying 'teen'? Well spotted. It's because the Fusion X1 also comes with the ability to set up the Xplora Guardian app, which limits the online world to keep younger teens safe from the darker parts of the internet. Via parental control, the phone can be set – out of the box – to limit social media, limit the browser, limit access at times when they should really be focused on work, limit the contacts they can talk to and message, plus you can manage app and screentime too, so you can be constantly assured of their online safety, regardless of where they are.
Now, while your school-age teen may take umbrage at what they may perceive as a gross limit to their online freedom, the Fusion X1 comes up trumps again. It comes boxed with a back case ('Fusion Casual Outfit') and a very cool ring light imbued case ('Flashy Outfit) that snaps on, the pop-up light activating automatically with the camera. And not just that, either, also available are other 'Smart Outfits', including an extra battery case, and the 'Fusion Gaming Outfit', which transforms the X1 into a gaming console.
There's a battery life of up to 56 hours, a fingerprint sensor, Bluetooth 5.1, and NFC support, all running on Android 14, making the Fusion X1 the smartest smartphone ever for teens who love advanced tech, but might be haphazardly vulnerable to scammers and other assorted online atrocities.
Key specs
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Best smartphones for students: Top picks under £500
Best for: High school students HMD, the company formerly known as Nokia before Microsoft snapped up its broken remains up in 2014 and let it rot, has been around since 2016, knocking out classic Nokia featurephones and smartphones, but it wasn't until 2023 that it started creating HMD-branded devices. I've reviewed the near-indestructible XR21, the photo-led feature-tastic Pulse Pro, and the industry-disrupting, repair-it-yourself Skyline, all of which have delighted and dazzled in equal measure. Which brings me to its latest model, the HMD Fusion X1 – and, as we've learned to expect from HMD, it offers something rather different from the rest of the smartphone set. First up, let's check the spec. Featuring an octo-core Qualcomm SM4450 (Snapdragon 4 Gen 2) at its heart, the Fusion X1 is geared towards performance, multitasking and, of course, gaming. The HD+ display boasts 6.56 inches and carries a pixel count of 720 x 1612 pixels, plus a 90Hz refresh rate. When it comes to cameras, a 50MP front-facing lens allows for selfies of truly monumental proportions, while the rear presents a whopping 108MP beast, complete with 2MP depth sensor. Both make for some sizeable snaps, but fear not, for the Fusion X1 comes with a generous 128GB of built-in storage, expandable up to a colossal 1TB with the addition of a microSD card. Now, like the Skyline, the Fusion X1 is also home repairable, so all you need is a tiny toolkit like the iFixit and should the screen have an unfortunate encounter, or the battery ceases to work, or the SIM tray somehow snaps, you can order a new part and DIY it (with the help of step-by-step online instructions), saving oodles on expensive shop repairs or sending the phone away for weeks, possibly months, on end. What's that? Why do I keep saying 'teen'? Well spotted. It's because the Fusion X1 also comes with the ability to set up the Xplora Guardian app, which limits the online world to keep younger teens safe from the darker parts of the internet. Via parental control, the phone can be set – out of the box – to limit social media, limit the browser, limit access at times when they should really be focused on work, limit the contacts they can talk to and message, plus you can manage app and screentime too, so you can be constantly assured of their online safety, regardless of where they are. Now, while your school-age teen may take umbrage at what they may perceive as a gross limit to their online freedom, the Fusion X1 comes up trumps again. It comes boxed with a back case ('Fusion Casual Outfit') and a very cool ring light imbued case ('Flashy Outfit) that snaps on, the pop-up light activating automatically with the camera. And not just that, either, also available are other 'Smart Outfits', including an extra battery case, and the 'Fusion Gaming Outfit', which transforms the X1 into a gaming console. There's a battery life of up to 56 hours, a fingerprint sensor, Bluetooth 5.1, and NFC support, all running on Android 14, making the Fusion X1 the smartest smartphone ever for teens who love advanced tech, but might be haphazardly vulnerable to scammers and other assorted online atrocities. Key specs
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